I'm really thinking about entering the Nursing field but I'm so confused!

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Hello All,

I have been in College for the past year and I'm still undecided as to what I want to major in. I really have a desire and love for helping people. At first, I was considering Psychology/Human Services but after a lot of research, that field requires a lot of school and the pay is not so good and it's really not in demand. I'm a single mother of a 6 year old. I'm 23 years old and I really don't have too much help as far as financial/emotional support. I've struggled my whole life and I don't want my son to have the same life I did. I'm really thinking about the Nursing field because it's a pretty stable job. However, from what I've read on this site, the stress you deal with is not worth the stability? Do you hate your job as a RN? What are the pros and cons of this field?

I was thinking about becoming a CNA because it does not require so much school and so I can have some medical experience. Then, I want to go back to school to be an LPN and after that, get my AAS in RN and eventually BSN. I want to avoid hospitals and Nursing homes because of the stress and politics. Does this plan sound realistic? If I enter the Nursing field, will I still have time to do my Motherly duties??? PLEASE ADVISE. :confused::nurse:

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Specializes in maternal child, public/community health.

I think your plan of starting as a CNA is a good idea. It will allow you to get patient contact and decide if you want to pursue nursing. You may need to work in LTC or a hospital to get some experience but then you could do home care which is more flexible. Nursing school is a big commitment of time, money, and energy. You want to be sure before you decide to do nursing.

Would I become a nurse again? Yes. I love what I do (public health working with teen moms and their children) but know there are many other options in nursing I would enjoy too. One of the great things about nursing is that there are many different types of jobs - if you get tired of what you do, you can change to something different. In many nursing jobs (like LTC or hospitals), you have to work weekends and holidays. You may need to work the night shift in the beginning. This can be challenging as a single parent but is not insurmountable.

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Thank you so much for your response. This was my motivation for today! :D...It's so cool that you're able to work with teen moms and their kids. When I was considering Psychology, I wanted to specialize in teen moms; I never even thought about the opportunities we have as nurses to work with these mothers. How was your experience working with them? Thanks again! :)

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Specializes in maternal child, public/community health.

As I said, I love my job working with teen moms and babes. (Okay, almost every day I love my job) I develop long-term relationships in a holistic program. In addition to a nurse, they have a support worker who helps them with a variety of things like medicaid, getting a driver's license, soliving problems that make going to high school difficult, ...... I get to spend a lot of time educating them about health/parenting. It is great. Some of their life situation are sad though which can be difficult.

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WOW! That's awesome!! :heartbeat

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